The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) on Monday last week restarted operations at the International Vegetable Genebank following an efficiency upgrade funded by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).
A ceremony at WorldVeg’s headquarters in Tainan’s Shanhua District (善化) marked the event, with Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季), Global Crop Diversity Trust executive director Stefan Schmitz and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) attending alongside representatives from agricultural research institutes and the private sector.
The gene bank was established in 2010 under an endowment program from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is the largest public vegetable germplasm collection in the world, with more than 55,000 seed accessions that encompass the germplasms of 330 vegetable species from 155 countries.
Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei Times
WorldVeg has donated more than 700,000 seeds to aid agricultural breeding and germplasm exchange research worldwide.
To enhance the gene bank’s efficiency and extend the storage life of seeds amid threats from urbanization, climate change, biodiversity loss, and emerging plant diseases and pests, WorldVeg last year launched a project to upgrade the facility, with the MOA providing NT$17 million (US$515,042), WorldVeg said in a statement.
Temperature and humidity control systems were upgraded to extend seed viability and ensure longer preservation of genetic diversity, while inventory management and seed distribution systems were enhanced, with the storage capacity boosted 2.5-fold to increase the accessibility of genetic resources, and the efficiency of research and applications, it said.
Chen told the ceremony that the revamp aligned with Taiwan’s commitment to global food security and sustainable agriculture.
By preserving critical vegetable germplasm resources and sharing them with the world, Taiwan supports future generations to address climate change, enrich nutritional value and bolster global food system resilience, he said.
Schmitz said that the gene bank plays a key role in maintaining vegetable diversity.
The modernization of the gene bank would ensure a stable supply of valuable seed resources to researchers, breeding specialists and agricultural workers, assisting them in cultivating high-yield food crops that are more adaptive to climate change to reinforce global food systems, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS